Jaded Mirage
by Mika-ojou
Summary: Sakura Haruno is the heiress and sole survivor of her clan who had been brutally massacred just to obtain the true heiress of the perfect form of their dojutsu. As a result, the Sandaime decided to send her to the Uchiha clan to whom her parents were very close and had made a pact. But along the way, they announces that she and HIM are betrothed? Will it work or end in tragedy?
1. Chapter 1

Chappie 1-  
Four kunai whipped past the trees as they hit the targets right on the center. A clap was heard from the background as two persons approached the young girl who had been the one training. Straightening herself up, she looked expectantly at her parents eyes and saw admiration and happiness.

"Saki-chan, that was incredible, some more training and you'll be as great as your onee-chan."  
The girl smiled brightly while her pink hair bobbed as she ran to hug her kaa-chan and tou-chan. Her mother smiled happily at her but opted not to hug her as she was dirty and muddy and might end up soiling her. It was not as she minded it but because of an entirely different reason.

"Okaa-chan, why won't you hug me?" Sakura asked pouting and looking terribly disappointed while staring at her parents with big emerald-green eyes. Her mother laughed sweetly and patted her on the head before crouching so that they would be of the same level.

"Saki-chan, kaa-chan and tou-chan would like to tell you something very very important." Sakura nodded and looked expectantly at them while her mother kept on patting her by the head indicating that she was nervous.

"Hai kaa-chan." Sakura stated while smiling widely to show that it would be fine whatever the news would be. Her mother inhaled deeply before closing her eyes and holding Sakura's hands now.

"Dear, you are going to be a- Ryuui, help me out here will you?" Her mother stated while transferring her look to the man beside her who was smiling teasingly at his wife's situation.

"Kaa-chan, what is it?" Sakura asked worriedly while looking at her parents with confusion and curiosity illuminating her eyes. Her father crouched down to and held her small hands while holding Diyane's hand with his other free hand.

"You see pumpkin, you are going to be an onee-chan too." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and she wasn't able to speak for a minute making her mother uncomfortable.

"S-saki-chan?" To which Sakura did not respond either. Her mother sighed sadly while looking at her husband with eyes that were showing sadness and regret.

"A-are you not glad that you are going to be a sister too?" Her father asked her while she still stared at them like it was the most common thing to do in situations like this.

"O-onee-chan? Me?" Sakura finally said while her voice was hoarse making her mother fidget with her hands.

"Hai Sakura. You are also going to be an onee-chan, don't you like that?" Her father asked her while looking through her eyes looking for answers but finding none at all.

"Like it? Of course not, I don't like it one bit." Her mother inhaled sharply while tensing her hands and looking away guiltily. Sakura had not liked it and that would be hard since it would take her more than that to convince her.

"Sakura, please understand that bei-." Her father was cut off when she jumped up and down excitedly while doing a strange dance and squealing at the top of her voice.

"I don't just like it... I love it! Sakura-nee, kyaa!" Sakura said while squealing happily as she tried her name with the -nee and finding it very cute while hugging her mother who seemed surprised too by her reaction.

"Hahaha, that's good. You had us worried there dear, now come on, I need to change my clothes again and take you to bath, okay? You stink already and we are going to visit someone important, it would be shameful for someone as cute as you to look like a complete mess." Her mother said while holding her hand and leading her away from her training ground. She noticed the unmistakable joy and happiness her mother had in her eyes while she held her hand and her father had his arm slung on her shoulders. They were the epitome of a happy family walking together as if there was nothing that could destroy their happiness.

However, Sakura could not help but feel nerved out by the fact that someone seemed to be watching them from the shadows waiting for the right time to strike out and destroy their happiness. The feeling appeared when they passed by another set of forest.

"Dear, what's the matter now?" Her mother asked her while she looked up confusion evident in her eyes searching her mother's eyes for an answer. They had already stopped and Sakura was looking around frantically as if searching for something missing.

"I thought someone was watching us earlier, it must have been my imagination. I guess, I am tired kaa-chan, no need to worry!" Sakura said while looking at the road warily and holding on to her mother's hands again. Her mother on the other hand looked worriedly at her and then at Ryuui who squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. It was not good to worry herself over such matters as it would harm her and the child.

"Ryuui..." Said man shook her head and smiled at her making sure that she would relax and not let Sakura notice the expression flitting on their faces.

"Yes, I know Diyane. We'll deal with it later okay? For now, let's focus on getting Sakura home and cleaned up. We need her to be with us when we visit them okay?" Ryuui said while kissing her on the lips, calming the woman down as they continued to walk.

"Ew, okaa-chan and otou-chan, don't do that in front of me. It's grossing me out!" Sakura said while making gagging sounds. Her mother smiled shyly before she began to tickle her making Sakura squeal in delight and forgetting the feeling she had earlier ago. They were obviously having fun thus not  
noticing the pair of eyes watching the young girl as she happily evaded her mother's attempt of tickling her. They continued this until they reached the Haruno clan house where the two began to head upstairs to take a bath.

"Now Sakura, don't move too much, the water's spilling out of the tub!" Her mother said exasperated as the 6 year-old girl kept on giggling and moving farther away from her kaa-san.

"Kaa-san, I can handle it myself now. I'm a big girl!" Sakura said while her mother sighed exasperatedly again at the girl's childish antics.  
"Sakura, please. We are going to be late if you do not cooperate with me here, you do not want your little sister/brother to be sad since you make me feel exasperated right?" Sakura stopped thrashing about in the water and stayed still making her mother finish easier than before all for the sake of her unborn sibling After getting out of the bath, she wore casual clothes that consisted of a maroon shirt that had a zipper in front of her and a skirt that reached her knees and cute blue sandals.

"Are you ready now dear?" Her mother asked her to which she responded with a small nod. They walked out of the room and headed downstairs where her father was waiting.

"Now, we're all ready to go." Sakura looked around searching for any signs of her onee-chan but she saw no one, not even a trace.

"Otou-chan, where is Miyuki-nee?" Sakura asked while her father sighed sadly. This meant that she was away again or just plain too busy with work.  
"She can't go with us Sakura since she's on a mission. She's been so busy ever since she was promoted to jounin at the age of 16." Ryuui explained while Sakura nodded understanding the circumstances. It saddened her since she was close with her sister and now that she had been promoted to jounin, she nearly had no time to be with them at all now.

"But don't worry Saki-chan. Miyu-chan will be home tonight so you don't have to worry about missing her. You'll see her soon enough and the two of you can bond together." Her mother said comforting the young girl and removing any room for doubt at all.

"Now, let's go. It would be bad to make them wait any longer now, right?" Her mother said before holding her hand and leading her out of the compound where her father was waiting for them.

"We're all set now I suppose?" Ryuui asked casually as he intertwined his hands with her wife while walking towards the village. Sakura's feet were growing with weary and tireness as they kept on walking. For her, it seemed as if it were hours ago when in fact only 30 minutes had passed.

"Otou-san, where are we going? I'm tired already, otou-san..." Sakura said while stifling a yawn. Ryuui looked at her slightly before smiling, eyes bright with excitement and anticipation.

"Now now Saki-chan. That would be a secret you know. It would be rather bad if you know immediately who we are visting. Don't worry though, we are near and soon you'll be able to meet them." Ryuui said making Sakura pout childlishly and keeping herself closer to her mother. Soon enough, a gate came into view and Sakura couldn't help but feel relieved that they had reached their destination. A woman about her mother's age was holding the hand of a young boy about her age and another boy was standing beside her looking passively at them. A man was also beside the woman and held her hand signifying that they were a family.

"Mi-chan!" Diyane immediatly released herself from Ryuui and Sakura's hold then ran to meet the other woman.

"Di-chan! Is it true that you are with child again?" Her mother blushed slightly before nodding yes making the woman squeal in delight about the news. Ryuu also approached the other man and the two of them greeted each other as if they haven't seen each other for a long time.

"Fugaku..." Ryuui said while slapping the man's back as a sign of recognition.

"Ryuui, congratulations on the baby." Fugaku answered making Ryuui laugh and continuously slap the man's back showing that he was happy too. It would seem that Sakura was forgotten until Mikoto caught sight of her and immediately approached her with such speed. She crouched down to the level of Sakura and looked at her closely before smiling gently at her.

"Hello there, I'm Mikoto Uchicha. I suppose you are Sakura, right?" Sakura nodded her head slowly while looking at the woman's black eyes with her emerald ones.

"I see, why she's such a cute little girl Diyane-chan. You are sooo lucky you know, you got two beautiful girls while I've got two stoic boys." Mikoto said while pouting childlishly at Diyane. Sakura watched them with her emerald eyes before she looked behind the two and caught sight of the two boys  
walking towards them while the two older men followed closely, conversing in hushed voices.

"Oh, why aren't they handsome?" Diyane said as the two approached their mother. The older boy held the other boy's hand and then looked at their mother silently.

"What is it Ita-chan?" Mikoto asked while Sakura looked at them curiously. The younger boy ran to their mother and hugged her before sniffling slightly pointing out that he was crying.

"He says that he's scared, kaa-chan." The older boy said, his voice soft and gentle yet with a touch of coldness. Sakura's eyes widened slightly as her emerald orbs were met by obsidian ones.

"Ah, Itachi-kun, this here is Sakura-chan. She's the daughter of the Haruno clan, now, I'll tend to your little brother here, why don't you accompany her for the meantime? Ryuui, Fuga-kun, Di-chan, let's go inside the house now and continue the talk there. Ita-chan, show Sakura-chan around hmm?" Her eyes were glinting dangerously as if daring her son to go against her order. The 10 year-old boy repressed a shudder and instead nodded to show that he agreed to do it.

"Very well then, now, you two best get going." Mikoto said before carrying the other boy in her arms and leading the way to the Uchiha clan house. Itachi on the other hand, grabbed Sakura's hands and led her towards the lake behind the clan house.

"A-ano, Itachi-san..." Sakura stated as they stopped by the lake's edge. Itachi sat down and dangled his feet on the water to which Sakura followed suit too. He was silent and Sakura made it her personal mission to talk with the young Uchiha heir, at the very least to ease up her boredom.

"A-ano, Itachi-san..." The boy looked at her and she felt embarrassed at the look the older boy sent to her. Sakura turned away and decided to ignore the look Itachi had sent towards her, when she felt that he was no longer staring, she decided to turn around and pester Itachi again. However, due to her silence and deep thinking, she hadn't noticed that Itachi had excused himself as he needed to do something important leaving the girl staring into nothing.

"I-itachi-san?" Sakura called out perplexed by the fact that the boy was no where to be seen, it was as if he had vanished into thin air. She felt cold wind slap her in the face and goosebumps formed on her neck and shoulders making her turn around in panic and survey the whole area. Except for the occasional rustling of the trees, there was no other noise. She tried to run towards the area of the clan house but instead she bumped into a clear wall that was put up. Her fear was intensified when the metallic smell of blood reached her nose, it was as if she could taste it herself.

"Why, I never had thought that I'd be able to capture you easily, little girl. But still, as a Haruno you would probably know what we want especially since you seem to be exceptionally talented and intelligent, so before anything else, tell us what we want to know?" Four shinobis wearing a white kimono that was tucked in place by a purple ribbon also appeared behind the first man. They had masks on their face but the intensity of their bloodlust was rolling off them like a wave. Sakura felt herself trapped in between the wall and the shinobis who were cornering her even more.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about!" Sakura said while cowering in fear among their bloodthirstiness.

"Ha, as if you can fool me little girl. I had watched you practice everyday and your parents would always tell you that you will be as good as your onee-chan. Obviously then, you know where she is right? Tell us and you won't suffer death at all, or maybe we'll make it fast." Sneered the man in front, making Sakura cower in fear even more, she felt bile rise up to her mouth but she had decided to keep her mouth shut in every way to protect her older sister.

"What now huh little girl? Will you risk your life to protect you sister huh? Well then, take this." The other man sneered too while throwing a kunai for good measure which grazed her on the arms. The others decided to toy with her even more and forced her to run.

"Run now little girl... Maybe even scream for help, no one will be aware that you are trapped. I have placed a powerful genjutsu that will take a hard time to dispel." The other shinobi, a woman apparently had stated while watching Sakura run as fast as her legs could take her. They kept on throwing kunais and shurikens that had grazed Sakura on the face, arms and tore her clothes slowly.

"Too bad little girl, you are still weak, probably the weakest in the Haruno clan. It would seem like a waste to kill you but orders are orders. Tell us where your heiress is and I'll make this quick." The man sneered again, while watching Sakura, caked in blood, inhale and exhale slowly. As the man came nearer, they felt a malevolent aura emanating from Sakura and they felt repulsed at the idea. However, she giggled evilly and looked up in the skies, her eyes not being seen by the attackers.

"L-let's get this over with, she's probably just scaring us away." The other shinobi stated while they all surrounded the young girl whose eyes were still transfixed at the skies.

"Baka..." Sakura said before lowering her head to make them see what her eyes had became. Instead of the vibrant emerald green color, it had tints of golden and purple at the edge and her eyes had a complex pattern on it. Her left cheek was engraved with a cherry blossom like tatoo and her lips were in  
a malicious smirk that made the five shinobis stiffen.

"She is the heiress?" It was more of a question instead of a statement since they too were baffled that the person they were seeking was the weak and fragile little girl in front of them. The fear and panic she had felt probably triggered her seal to release a bit and her dojutsu to appear.

"You talk too much." Sakura said before passing by him like wind leaving nothing but dust. She did the same with the three other shinobis and they ended up lying on the floor, bleeding from the wounds the little girl inflicted on them. The last man tried to run away but Sakura was in front of her in a mere second holding down his throat and looking malicious, just at the time the kunai in the girl's hand was about to hit him in the neck, the genjutsu was roken and there stood the figures of the Uchiha main family and her own family.

"S-saki-chan?" Shock registered in their faces and the couldn't help but feel Sakura's aura emanating malevolence.

"Put the man down now Sakura." Ryuui ordered to which the girl followed and dropped the man gasping for air. However, Sakura would not have any of it and placed chakra binds on them to prevent them from leaving the place. Silence was in the tensed atmosphere when Sakura stood in front of them, her eyes steely and cold not yet returning to her usual bubbly emerald-green eyes.

"Sakura-chan, please listen to me... Deactivate your dojutsu, now." Diyane said while crouching and hugging the young girl which seemed effective for slowly, her eyes returned to normal and sobs raked her body.

"O-okaa-chan, I never thought I'd see you again." Sakura said while sobbing hysterically. Fugaku looked grimly at Ryuui and nodded his head. The plan had to commence, the girl's power had awaken and that meant trouble, if any missing-nins saw what had taken place, they would try any means possible to take and control the pinkette. She had seemed weak and fragile and was underestimated by the people, however, another power lies dormant within her, and now, it has awaken.

"Ryuui, we need to do it. She has awaken her powers now, and it would mean trouble if that happens, you know many are after the Haruno heiress who will have the perfect Shourei Rengan." Fugaku stated not too cold but had conviction in it.

"But she has only awaken her dojutsu, it does not mean that she is truly the heiress. Who knows maybe it is another Haruno child." Reasoned out Ryuui which earned him exasperated looks from everyone. The two Uchiha kids were inside the house now and the only people present were the four of them minus Sakura who had became unconscious from fatigue.

"We need to let her rest for the meantime. Fugaku, Mi-chan, we need to leave now but, I trust that the pact we have made will be followed no matter what the circumstances, yes?" Diyane stated before transporting themselves to the Haruno clan house to tend to the wounds of the younger girl.

"Yes... I have found the heiress already and she shall soon be ours..." Slithered a voice before vanishing from the hidden forest of the Haruno clan house. The plan they had made years ago before the heiress was born shall be put to place now. The Harunos might fight back and retaliate but not if they are  
caught in surprise. Yes, soon, it would happen and the Haruno clan will be no more.

**A.N**

**Well, here's the start. I still don't have a title but anyway, it'll come through, I hope so. I might not be able to update most of the time since I'm busy and stuffs but, look forward to them and tell me if there's any scene you might want added or not. **

**Oh and on a side note, sorry if I misspelled quite a lot, I'm quite new to this since I just got introduced to animes and stuffs. So sorry also if I ended up misspelling the Uchiha and turned it to Uchicha, so sorry...**


	2. Chapter 2

Chappie 2-

"Fuga-kun, you know what her eyes meant right?" Mikoto asked her husband the moment the Harunos had left their clan house carrying the now unconscious girl.

"Yes..." Fugaku answered back making Mikoto sigh deeply. It would mean destruction if ever the girl was caught and used as a weapon by another village. They had to disclose this information to their Hokage and no other for it would be bad if everyone learns that the Haruno clan contains such a secret. Everybody disregarded the Haruno clan since they were only known to be intelligent, most not knowing that the Haruno clan was one of the most scariest clan ever. Their dojutsu could control elemental jutsus that were not compatible with them.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Almost as if somethings gonna happen soon, something bad. I don't like this kind of feeling Fuga-kun, the last time I had this feeling, the village was attacked." Mikoto said making Fugaku's already grim face to be even more grim.

"Well, do not worry about that Miko-chan. It would do you no good to harm yourself further, just rest and be with the kids. I will handle the matter with Ryuui." Mikoto nodded and entered the main house before watching Fugaku leave without a trace to head towards the Hokage.  
"Sakura-hime, how are you feeling?" An old woman asked Sakura as she lay on her futon her feet not even halfway her whole futon. Her body was filled mostly of bandages and she remembered everything that happened again. The fear, the pain, the hatred, the rush of power and the blood. She could not keep it away from her head and she was not able to answer at all.

"Ryuui-sama, Diyane-sama, she is well already, but speaking to me is something she does not want to do. I leave you to it then." The old woman said before leaving the room completely and closing the sliding door to give them privacy.

"Sakura, what we are to disclose to you is an important matter. Make sure that you understand it perfectly. I know that Fugaku will arrive here in a short notice as we have to disclose this matters with the Hokage." Sakura nodded mutely and stared into open space again while listening to her father's word.

"You, my daughter, are the heiress to the Haruno clan. You are capable of obtaining the perfect form of Shourei Rengan and utilizing the power that comes with it. Many are known to have sacrificed and have killed for them to obtain the power however, not one of them were able to take it. You were gifted with this the moment you were born and it was kept a secret throughout the whole clan. You must keep in mind that hatred is not what ignites it but love does. Do not force yourself to master such a delicate dojutsu. Wait for time, and do not worry about those shinobis, they are safe and are still alive for questioning." Ryuui said before finishing up the matter. A sudden knock was heard and they were informed that the Hokage and Uchiha ugaku had arrived.

"Lead them here, we have a lot to talk about." Ryuui ordered before holding Sakura's hands and comforting the young girl. The sliding door opened and the Sandaime along with Fugaku entered while nodding.

"Please take your seat." Ryuui pointed to the cushions that were already laid out. Complying to the request, the two newcomers sat down and observed the young girl sitting on her futon.

"She's too young." Was the only thing that came out of the Hokage's mouth after observing Sakura closely. Sakura looked at the Hokage, her eyes glistening with fear and respect for the leader of the village.

"And she's too innocent and fragile to look at. It's no wonder as to why they were fooled by that, she seems to be weak and utterly helpless, but what lies beneath her is a dormant power, many have dreamt of obtaining." Ryuui nodded grimly while Diyane held his hand on one hand as if to comfort him.  
"She needs to protected, the seal must have been broken and we will reseal it tomorrow, the same time again today." The Hokage said while unbeknown to them, a spy had infiltrated the Haruno clan house and heard the whole exchange.

**'Too bad, they'll be dead by the time that happens.'** And the man cackled silently making a mental note to treat himself to something luxurious when he had completed his mission. Yes, he would soon be out of the troublesome village that kept him cooped up for not revealing where the true heiress was. He sent a small letter to his subordinates to commence the attack tomorrow, soon, everything would be gone. And they would soon acknowledge his strength.

**TIMESKIP**

"Sakura, where are you going again now?" Diyane asked while scolding her second daughter who looked ready to go out again and do some playing. Sakura pouted innocently and smiled sheepishly while trying hard to hide the blush that was forming on her pale cheeks.

"Ah, I was just going to the library. I wanted to read more about new jutsus I can utilize kaa-chan and become strong since Miyuki-nee does not want to train with me now that she's a grown up and completely busy with things." Sakura answered while trying hard not to give away the real reason as to why she was heading to the library.

"Now Saki-chan, you be a good girl and don't come back home late, m'kay?" Diyane said while giving the girl a kiss on the forehead.

"Hai kaa-chan. I'll be off now!" Sakura said while waving goodbye happily and watching her mother hold her growing stomach, looking anxiously at her retreating back. She knew that maybe, just maybe, this will be an eventful day for the life of the young Haruno. Diyane felt tears come unbidden and she looked up at the skies to prevent herself from crying. They had to resort to even more desperate measure now that many greedy people were after the power of the clan.

"We had to do it Diyane-chan... You know that that is the only thing we can do to protect her from the claws of those power-hungry men. I know that sealing her powers back in is making you feel bad, but that's the only thing we can do to prevent her seal from overtaking her. Sakura's special in a kind of way and you must never forget that worrying is bad for your health. She's looking forward to having a younger sibling and we must make sure that the two of you are healthy." Ryuui said making Diyane blush tenfolds from what he said.

"Oh stop it you old fox." Diyane said earning an amused look from the Haruno patriarch while she flounced back inside the main house. Ryuui however, soon took on a serious facade as he felt something sinister approach them, the aura was still far but it was becoming more and mores sinister each passing minute. He shook this off as nothing serious and went inside the clan house too not noticing the smirk coming from the mouth of a certain slave.

"How may I help you Haruno-sama?" The librarian asked Sakura when she entered the library. Sakura smiled at her and showed her the slip of paper that her onee-chan had once written when they were kids.

"Oh, why these books are quite complex Haruno-sama, as expected. These books can be found on shelf number 13 and 17, once you've found them, you can now proceed to read them." Sakura bobbed her head slightly and proceeded to the shelves given to her. She approached it with such grace that would have made the other kids her age to feel jealous and all. As she chose the books that she had carefully listed down, she made a place for her at the far end of the library where the tables were found. She quickly slid in the seat and began to study the complex seals that were needed to perform the jutsu. She did not need to practice it, all she had to do was memorize them and soon she'll be able to perform them perfectly and flawlessly. That was the only advantage that she had against her older sister who happened to be late again and broke another promise. She hated that and so she decided to devote herself to catch her sister's attention that she was strong enough to be trained.

**'Sakura-hime, you are strong beyond your own thinking. Do not berate yourself about the fact that your sister does not give time for you. Just remember that it is all for your good and nothing more.'** Sakura felt herself stiffen when she heard the voice speak to her head. She had wanted to answer it but it was gone again and she had the feeling that she won't get anymore answers to the questions she had wanted to ask. This was the first time Haruno Sakura communicated with her inner persona marking as a milestone for her progress and for many more things. Things, she'd rather forget about and bury in pain when she had grown up, but not now, she's too innocent that falling into such an easy trick made the young girl vulnerable.

Mikoto stared out of the window suddenly. She had felt something fluctuating all the way from the Haruno compound and she knew that trouble was brewing, but she knew not the degree of it.

"Fuga-kun, did you feel that? It seems to me that something terrible is going to happen but I don't know what." Mikoto said while still staring worriedly outside the window. They heard an approaching footstep and Mikoto looked warily at the door, but her fear was stopped when she saw it was only Itachi.  
"Ita-chan, where have you been? It's already time for you to sleep! Have you eaten already?" The woman asked while hugging Itachi to herself. Itachi nodded his head and quickly walked away but he too stopped and looked around them warily. Mikoto looked worriedly towards his direction but he just gave his mother a small smile to reassure her.

"Mi-chan, I shall be heading to the Haruno compound. The Hokage has decided to reseal the girl's powers unless she is obtained by those people looking for power." Fugaku said while preparing to leave, however, Mikoto stood up too and removed her apron while washing her hands clean and drying them up.

"Fuga-kun, you do not expect me to stay here and be worried, do you? Besides, I can help you if ever Sakura-chan's chakra decides to fight the sealing process." Mikoto said while heading towards the door, the Uchiha patriarch just stared at his wife before he smirked and followed her out of the house to a clan of impending doom. They did not know that by the time they arrived there, there would be nothing more left for them to greet.

Sakura hurriedly ran towards her clan compound, she had been so caught up in reading about the new jutsus that she forgot what time it was already. She was way past her curfew and she knew that her kaa-chan would end up worrying and scolding her for being such a forgetful little creature. As she neared he gate however, it was wide open and the guards were nowhere to be seen, which made the young girl worry. She noticed the eerie silence too that surrounded the whole compound while the air seemed so cold at the same time.

**"AAAAAHHHHH!**" It was a scream, a scream of pure pain and Sakura nervously stopped on her tracks until she realized where it was coming from. She made it to the clan house where meetings were made and she couldn't help but feel the greed and the sinister intent coming from inside. It had felt so evil and cold at the same time making Sakura shiver in a not so good way.

"Where is the heiress of the clan, Haruno?" A voice asked sounding deep and masculine while laced with blood lust making Sakura fearful again. She slowly opened the tatami door and what greeted her made her stomach lurch. Bodies of her own kin where slumped on the ground that was bathed in blood already and there were at least fourteen shinobis that surrounded her big sister who was suffering from pain. The moment she stepped in, the attackers shifted their attention to the young girl and smirked at her.

"Well, I guess I have no need for you then Miyuki. We finally have what we are looking for, the Haruno heiress." The man cackled evilly making Sakura feel fear as they advanced towards her direction while their eyes showed how sinister they truly were. Her sister suddenly blocked them from nearing Sakura who was frozen in fear.

"S-sakura, y-you have to run..." Her sister started to cough up blood but still stubbornly stood her ground.

"Onee-chan, kaa-chan and tou-san, w-where are they?" Sakura asked not seeing the look of sadness and anger flitting across her onee-chan's face.

"Oh, you are looking for your parents? Such a sweet little girl you are, Toishi, bring the two Harunos here. I want the girl to see what is going to happen if she does not cooperate with us." The man said snarling as Miyuki attacked him with the trademark body flicker. The man was knocked down on the floor making him cuss and glare at Miyuki angrily.

"That's what you get for messing with us." Miyuki said just as the man called Toishi was thrown away from the impact of being hit by two strong Harunos. Sakura smiled as she saw her mother and father safe and alive, they joined them and ordered Sakura to run to which the latter stubbornly refused.

"Sakura, just go! You need to run away from here, we need you safe. Do not worry about us, we'll be safe, I promise now go!" Ryuui had said while kissing her on the forehead and giving her the katana he held. There was a necklace that dangled on the end of the katana handle shaped like an angel wing folded in half.

"This is a sign that we'll keep our promise, okay? It was created and molded by our chakra so that you will be able to utilize and control it whether you are far away. I need you to be safe for us, that as much I want you to promise and whatever happen don't come back, we'll be fine." Sakura nodded and ran towards the door before looking back at her parents and older sister back to back with each other. She felt tears well up on her eyes but crying for her clan was the last thing she should do, she needed to follow orders right now.

**'Where are they when we need them? Fugaku-sama and Sandaime-sama should have been here four hours ago.'** Sakura inwardly thought as she tried to run away from the clan house. As she passed by, she saw more and more of the Harunos lying dead on the ground while there were seals on their forehead that she recognized as a sealing technique as to destroy and keep their dojutsu sealed inside.

'Shh, ignore it for now, we need to escape from this area. Your kaa-san and tou-san said so. Leave it to them an report this to the first person you see. They'll help us.' Inner Sakura commented as Sakura began to waver.

**"AHHHH!"** Another scream was heard and Sakura couldn't help but feel the need to go back. This was the first time she heard such a scream coming from her older sister, and this was also the first time she decided to disobey orders. She was halfway from leaving the compound but she opted to turn back and help her parents, she couldn't bear the thought that they were slowly dying because of her. She ran back as fast as she could and all she saw when she entered was her sister lying dead on the position she used to be on and her mother being held captive by the other men and her father fighting with several kunai stabs on the back and a bigger wound on his hips. He was staggering drunkly and another slash made him fall down.

**'I told you to follow instructions!**' Screamed her inner which she ignored and pushed past her mind. She turned around and saw her mother being held captive by the other men.

"Ryuui!" Her mother screamed and she felt her blood go cold as she watched the men caress her mother's hair and smirk evilly. Her mother did the next best thing to do, she kicked him in the stomach and released herself from the grasps of her captors. She was still hidden away from view and she saw how her mother put up a fight only to be captured again and her neck being stained red from blood that was caused by the slash made by an unknown person. She inched closer towards their bodies as she watched them slowly, they were dead, that much she knew. But still she inched closer as if she was in a mother was dead and so was Miyuki, she tried to wake her father but all she got was silence, his faint chakra signature was slowly dying away and leaving him. Sakura felt tears come unbidden as she watched their bodies around her, her best friends, cousins, and everyone back at the Haruno compound, her kaa-chan, tou-chan and even onee-chan and her supposed to be imouto were gone, all dead, nothing left...

**'Love, how can you love someone you despise truly, they killed everyone. Miyuki-nee who had just arrived from a mission, kaa-san who was with child, tou-san who was worried about me... Everyone is dead, and these men had done it. They need to be punished severely.'** Sakura told herself, she looked down and her bangs blocked any view of her face. The man cackled and laughed triumphantly while declaring his victory and pervertedness.

"Ha, finally they have died, it was such a waste to kill such beautiful women, especially the eldest daughter, such a pretty girl she was. Now Haruno heiress, come with us and you won't suffer any pain at all." The man grinned evilly and she recognized him as the man that her family had taken in as a slave. It angered Sakura that such a man they trusted would betray them and she felt her fear dying away from inside her. All she could see were her bloodstained clothes and the blood from everyone dead. Hatred and anger reflected on her once bright eyes making her look even more malevolent.

"Let's get her now, she has submitted." The other man said while grabbing her hand since he misunderstood her antics as that of submission, a big mistake, for Sakura immediately grabbed the katana and unsheathed it before running it through the man's torso, his blood splattering on her face. She felt nothing, void, pain... She cared less about this man, he was the one who killed and made her clan suffer and he needed to die, eliminated. He will not harm anyone ever again, he must be punished for what he had done to the clan, mercilessly ordering around his men to kill anyone on sight, even the little children. When Sakura spoke, her voice was chilly and scary, it sounded ragged but powerful.

"Submission is something I will never do to the likes of you who murder innocent people. Death is something you shall not taste, but will be something you wish to have tasted." Sakura said before sheathing back her sword and looking at them as her eyes instantly turned a lighter shade of green with tints of purple and gold around the pupil while a sakura blossom pattern was on her eyes starting from the pupil. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came from outside and along with it, Sakura moved, unseen by the shinobis, she easily attacked them by immobilizing them but not truly killing them. Soon, she was faced by the second strongest man and he unsheathed his katana while performing a stance that he usually showed to Sakura when he was still working for them.

"This technique was one that you couldn't master, Sakura. You'll be soon in our hands! HA!" He attacked while Sakura looked at him impassively and stretched her hands to him, he tried to avoid her by steering away but Sakura instantly sent blossoms to held him captive, he avoided looking into her eyes but she forced him too.

"Pain, is what you will feel... Look at me in the eyes and you'll fall into a slumber you would never wanna wake up again." Sakura's voice sounded mad, more like malicious. And the man was stupid enough that he looked at her in the eyes and he couldn't help but feel proud of his achievement, the heiress had activated and received the perfect form of the Shourei Rengan all because of him.

"I have no qualms about this happ-AHHH!" A blood-curdling scream resonated throughout the whole place, it was filled with pain and fear. Sakura looked away from him before dropping him on the ground, blood spilling from his mouth. She placed her delicately small hands on his neck and held him in place until she heard footsteps approaching the area.

"Why is it extremely quiet here Fuga-kun?" A familiar voice was heard and Sakura couldn't help but feel worried, she held the man, still under her genjustu, on the neck as if making sure that whoever went through that door wouldn't be harmed by this man again. As the door opened, it revealed the Hokage, and the Uchiha matriarch and patriarch kunai's in their hands. They straightened, however when they saw her holding a man by the neck without any idea at all that they were there at all.

"S-sakura?" The girl looked at them and the Hokage instantly advance to her before removing her hand from the neck of the man and knocking her out. Fugaku looked around and he couldn't help but feel bad for the girl, everyone was dead except for her. Mikoto silently cried as she saw the hands of her best friend, it was bloodied and she understood who did it, the child couldn't have done it so there were only two options, either the man she was holding was the killer or was the one who planned the killing, the deaths of those from the Haruno were too untimely and she knew that even if she had a gut feeling, this was beyond what she could imagine at all.

"We need to bring her to the hospital, now." The Hokage said while looking worriedly at the girl in his arms, and breaking the eerie silence around them. Mikoto and Fugaku nodded before they headed out of the compound, they had to clean it up later, not now. Their worry now was the young girl, she had been in a trance-like state and they needed to find answers soon.

"Her eyes, they were not just the Shourei Rengan, is it?" Mikoto asked wonderingly while looking at the young girl sleeping peacefully except for the blood on her face and clothes.

"Yes, it is the Shourei Rengan, but the perfect form of that dojutsu. And sealing her power in, is nearly impossible at this state, I wished we had arrived earlier and not stayed around with Danzo, then maybe, such tragedy would have been prevented." Mikoto nodded grimly while contemplating on the matter, if only they had been a step ahead of he killers, then the Haruno clan wouldn't have been murdered brutally. What about little Sakura, they had left no plan at all, nothing, not even a single one... Or was that agreement a part of the countermeasure? Maybe, just maybe, they had known this was going to happen and made counter measures for the protection of their daughter, but Sakura acquiring the perfect form of Shourei Rengan, was something they did not expected.

**A.N**

**And here goes another chapter, I hope that you guys like it too. I suck at summaries, so yeah, just tell me if I'm crappy and if it's confusing or what. And if you guys ever want a scene, I'd love to hear it. Thanks again ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

Chappie 3-

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, as she did so, her eyesight became blurred and fuzzy until it focused on the white ceiling. Everything was white around her and she felt an IV tube connected to her wrist, it was uncomfortable but it made her body feel strong enough.

"I see that you are awake now, Sakura. If you are wondering about the date, you had been asleep for nearly a week now." The said girl turned around and was met by the Sandaime who carried a small file in his hands. He had a very serious look and the young girl couldn't help but look back icily.

"Hokage-sama..."

"I'm sorry for your loss, even I did not expected such an attack to occur, but your clan truly showed their great knowledge by sealing in their dojutsu when they die since no one then would be able to activate nor use their technique then." Sakura just nodded and stared out of the place, she couldn't help but fight back the feeling of dread that had formed ever since memories of what happened came back to her mind. She didn't know whether she should be happy or angry at the Hokage since he had told her about the way they thought of the village before anything else.

"What do you want to do about your clan's body?" Sakura looked at him and then outside before sighing slightly. It would be completely useless to evade the topic any longer so she answered simply.

"Cremate them, it would be easier to do so... I do not want any nin's to snoop around their graves." Sakura answered while her eyes gave away nothing. It was as if in the short span of time, her bubbly attitude was overshadowed by her serious demeanor.

"Very well then, it is no secret that your parents had been intelligent persons. They had planned ahead of time, they were probably thinking of what will happen to you if an attack was made and so for now, you shall be staying at the Uchiha clan. They were your families closest friend outside the clan, they will pick you up when you are discharged later. For now, rest your body and do not overexert yourself." The Hokage said before leaving her there to do her own musings. Soon, a nurse arrived and gave her the amount of medicine but her look was that of pity which made Sakura feel worse. Of all the things she hated, it was the pity they sent her way without understanding why they shouldn't pity her.

"Here are your medicine, please drink them and afterwards, there are visitors that would like to see you." The nurse informed her. She immediately drank the medicine and waited for the said visitors. Her body was small enough that her feet didn't even reached half of the bed, it was a bit comical since you could sit on the edge of the bed and still have space to stretch around.

"Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?" She looked towards the voice and she felt comforted by it, it belonged to none other than Uchiha Mikoto who was carrying a vase of flowers. She placed it on the bedside and gave Sakura a comforting smile.

"Gomen na Sakura-chan, we arrived late. It was too late for us to even save your mother or your father."Mikoto said while holding the girl's hand on her own palms. The girl looked too fragile and too innocent, from the attack that happened yesterday, only one of the attackers was found dead while the remaining were immobilized and were taken in for questioning. The dead one was probably their leader who instigated the attack, nobody was sure since they were still not talking.

"Uchiha-sama, it was not your fault as to why my whole clan was... Eradicated... It is no secret that we were one of the most sought out clan, it was because of my stupidity that they are now gone." Sakura said while looking outside again, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Just call me Mikoto, dear. By the way, I will be picking you up later when you are discharged, by then I want you to be fully rested, understood?" Mikoto asked in a motherly way to which Sakura replied with a nod, however, she made a mental note to put a -san to the woman's name. Mikoto gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving her again. Sakura looked around and everything came rushing again, every reminder her mother and father had given her was embedded in her mind and she had no will at all to defy all those rules.

'**_Sakura-hime, remember to ask for the katana when you are discharged. That will be an essential tool for controlling your Shourei Rengan.'_** Sakura took no chance of hesitation and questioned her too.

**'Who are you?' **

'_**Call me inner, that's as far as I would call myself, rest now hime-sama, it would do us no good if you will end up staying in the hospital for a longer duration.'**_Sakura let herself fall into a deep slumber that was immediately cut short by nightmares of her parent's murder. She could still feel her tou-chan's hand as he died slowly and she was forced to relive the pain in her sleep again.

"AHHHHH!" Sakura's scream made the nurses panic and immediately called for the Hokage's attention. The girl was slowly sobbing now and kept on muttering incoherent words before whimpering in pain again. One of the nurses immediately injected something on Sakura's arms which made the girl calm down.

"H-hokage-sama..." The nurse sighed heavily before giving the Sandaime the release slip, she wouldn't have released the girl if it weren't for the fact that the Sandaime told her too, after signing the slip, the nurse went back to report to the head medic. Sakura had calmed down now and was sleeping peacefully, the Hokage slowly walked away before sighing deeply, the girl had been through a lot and she needed another family to comfort her, maybe the pact had some other benefits too.

"Okaa-san, where are you going at this time?" Mikoto froze at the door, she was hoping to keep it a secret from her sons for now, however, here was Itachi, in his jounin uniform while looking wearily at his okaa-san.

"I just have to pick up someone, the Hokage told me that today." Mikoto said while putting on her smile to prevent him from speaking further.

"Okaa-san, you do know that the latest attack on the Ha-." Mikoto turned around and silenced Itachi with a glare.

"I am fully aware of that, now, if you are so afraid of my welfare then just come along. I do not want to hear any more about that being mentioned." Itachi was taken aback by what his mother had said but he instead changed out of his uniform and tagged along his mother. He had been tired from the mission but when he saw her walking out of the house, he couldn't help but fear for her well being. The Haruno clan had been eradicated and not one was supposed to have been left alive. Even if the event had happened just a week ago, the people seemed to have forgotten about the clan, it was bound to happen since the Haruno clan excelled in diplomacy and intelligence unlike those who stood out in the fighting.

"Now Ita-chan, I want you to be nice to the person we are picking up, okay? Don't worry, your age gaps are not that much, only 3 years at most. Now, be a good boy and wait here while I ask the receptionist, okay?" Itachi nodded knowing that his mother could not be persuaded out of something that she had agreed on with the Hokage. Whoever this person they were picking up must be important, that, was already guaranteed. After a few minutes of waiting, Itachi noticed that his mother was talking happily to a person wearing a hoodie hiding most of his features.

"Ita-chan, come here this instant. This is the person I'm talking about, but before we go, we need to drop by the mall, we need to buy her new clothes as her old house would be deemed... Now, let's go to the mall, what do you say?" Mikoto asked the girl while Itachi tried to get a closer look at her face. Her chakra signature reminded him of someone but he just couldn't remember who it was.

The girl nodded and they slowly walked down the road heading towards the mall, they stopped by to buy some dress and then some sandals and then other casual things a girl needed. Itachi was getting bored already when they decided to call it a day and rest. The girl still kept her hood up and didn't even spared him one look but instead, forced her hoodie even more to hide her face.

After a few minutes of awkwardness, Mikoto held the girl's hands and led her inside the compound as to keep her away from the prying eyes of the other Uchiha around them. Itachi just walked casually while glaring slightly at the girl for stealing away the attention his mother used to give to him. He wouldn't admit it but he was after all a mama's boy.

"Okaa-san! Where did you go? Otou-san said that you were sent on a mission to pick up someone very important, is it true? You seldom accept missions okaa-san, and who is that person? Okaa-san, you are not replacing me with that person right?" A cute five year-old Sasuke said while staring intently at his mother, his eyes brimming with tears. Itachi greeted his father and grabbed Sasuke's hands before leading him upstairs to give privacy to their parents and also, to calm his otouto down.

"Sakura-san, you can relax now you know." The young girl removed her hoodie and looked up at the man's stern face. She studied it closely, looking for any sign of pity on the man's eyes only to find remorse and nothing else. It made Sakura happy knowing that this one did not pity her but understood the situation perfectly.

"I hope I'm not being a burden to you, Uchiha-sama. I would have stayed back at the compound but the Hokage said that it was-." Fugaku smiled at Sakura stopping the girl from continuing her response, he hadn't expected to garner such a reaction from the young heiress.

"Ie, your father and I were very close friends back then, it was more of a promise that we made with each other. If it happened otherwise, your father would have done the same thing." Sakura looked at them before slowly nodding her head.

"Well, Fuga-kun, I'll just show Sakura-chan's room and have her change clothes, then I can proceed to cook dinner." The said man nodded and watched them as the two female walked away from the living room.

**'Maybe having her around won't be that bad after all...'** Fugaku said to himself while musing at things deeply. He felt responsible for the whole Haruno clan wipeout, all because they had been ordered by Danzo to stay for the meantime and talk things with him. The agreement between the Haruno clan and the Uchiha clan was not terminated as the heiress survived, so what they were doing was following the contract and for old times sake.

It was a very big house, well, just as big as her house back at the Haruno compound, however, it had the happy aura surrounding it, making Sakura feel nostalgic. The had passed by several rooms already and Mikoto was explaining each room to which she wasn't paying attention at all until they stopped on one of the corridors.

"Now, this door with the black color is Ita-chan's, the blue one's is Sasu-chan's and yours is the white one. I'll arrange your clothes later, for now change your clothes and we'll head to the kitchen, I hope you like sweet things as we're going to have onigiri and dango today." Sakura looked at the woman who smiled at her as she entered the bathroom, she couldn't help but feel relaxed and comfortable with the woman around. After changing into a more comfortable clothing which consisted of a maroon shirt and a black mini-pants with a matching black sandals and a hoodie. She put it on and combed her hair into place before stepping out of her room, now.

"My, how cute you are Saku-chan, well, you wouldn't mind accompanying me to the kitchen now, right?" Sakura shook her head as a sign that she didn't mind at all, she quickly took a glance at the room before heading out of the corridor and down to the kitchen. Mikoto wore a plain white apron while handing her a black one that was way too long for her.

"Do you know how to cook onigiri Saku-chan? You could help me if you want too..." Sakura slowly nodded and took a glance at the ingredients, everything was laid out perfectly and she couldn't help but feel sad about it. Everything was just like her okaa-san's way, prim and order. She hated it whenever someone was late and was very jolly but serious at certain times.

'**Itachi-san and Sasuke-chan are lucky. They have Mikoto-san as their mother, I just wished I'd get another chance to see them again.'** Sakura said to herself while doing the plating for the onigiris. She watched as Mikoto nimbly finished up all the dishes together.

"All set now now Saku-chan. Let's serve them on the table already, Ita-chan had set the plates earlier before as it is his customary habit." Sakura looked up at the woman who was talking while carrying two plates and setting them gracefully on the table. Sakura did the same with the other dishes and the onigiri she had cooked, soon, everything was finished.

"Saku-chan, another favor, can you call Ita-chan for me? He's in his room again and he's probably playing with Sasu-chan so it's like killing two birds with one stone right? I'll go and call Fuga-kun, you wouldn't mind doing that for me right?" Mikoto asked Sakura as she finished putting the plates on the table. Said girl just nodded her head and walked slowly towards the stairs leading to Itachi's room. As Sakura departed, Fugaku entered the room and looked at his wife worriedly. They had been worrying about the fact that Sakura had been so serious and silent ever since they arrived at the compound.  
"Mi-chan, she's just adjusting to her new life, don't be too harsh on yourself, we'll talk about it later after dinner hmm?" Mikoto nodded silently before hugging her husband to calm and prevent herself from panicking.

Sakura trudged slowly as to prevent any creaking noise from her weight. She passed by the doors until she reached the black tatami door and she knocked deftly on it. A low 'hn' was heard followed by enter, and enter she did so. Sakura looked around the room and realized that they were mostly painted in black while most of the furnitures were blue.

"A-are you the girl okaa-san brought in to replace me?" Sakura turned around to see Sasuke hiding behind his nii-chan while sobbing, indicating that he misunderstood the real reason she was brought in. She came nearer and Sasuke hid himself even more by clutching on to his aniki's shirt, noticing this, she made her way slowly and calmly before reaching Sasuke who still looked at her hatefully.

"Gomen na sai, you must have misunderstood something. I'm not here to replace you, Mikoto-san loves you too much to replace you with me. I was just brought in here since I don't have a family anymore, so please don't cry anymo-" Sakura was cut off by this when Sasuke pushed her making her fall backwards and landing on her butt.

"Ja, just because you are taller and older than me by a year doesn't mean you can talk to me like that! I hate you, you're stealing my okaa-chan and otou-chan away from me!" Sasuke immediately grabbed hold of Itachi's hand and pulled him towards the door. Itachi spared Sakura a look before following his little brother who was pulling him along , he understood why Sasuke felt like that, and seeing Sakura brought back unwanted memories that he pushed to the remotest corner in his mind.

"Oh, Ita-chan, Sasu-chan, did Saku-chan told you that we were eating? Well, where is she?" Itachi and Sasuke were spared from answering when Sakura immediately arrived and took a seat beside Mikoto. Sasuke was glaring pointedly at Sakura from across the table as they continued to eat.

"Sasu-chan, try this onigiri, Saku-chan made it and it tastes good. It's your favorite, right?" Sasuke immediately pouted and declined the offer obviously mad at Sakura whom he thought was stealing away his parent's attention. Dinner finished quietly and normally, afterwards, Sakura volunteered to do the dishes and received another glare from Sasuke. He was only five years old but his glares were already pointed and effective, but Sakura nevertheless continued her task while washing the dishes daintily. Soon, everyone were in bed, sleeping soundly, everyone except Sakura.

_"Saki-chan, how could you let us die like that?" It was her mother who looked at her with anger and disappointment evident in her eyes._

_"Saki-chan, why did you not fight back?" It was her older sister now, she was looking at her with eyes filled with remorse and pain._

_"You are truly a worthless daughter, you may be the heiress but you were not able to save us..." This time, it was Ryuui who said this and soon everyone from the Haruno clan surrounded her and kept on chanting weak, useless, and a great disappointment. Sakura felt the world shift and she found herself reliving the final moments of her family again and again, the blood in her face and hands, the ragged breathing of her father as he lay dying, her sister's dead form along with her mother's body._

She felt herself tremble in fear and she did the last thing she could do, she screamed. In the stillness of the Uchiha clan house, a scream pierced the silence alerting the whole main family. It was good that they had placed a justu preventing any sound from coming out of the house as Sakura's scream was filled with agony and fear. Mikoto and Fugaku hurriedly rushed to the room where Sakura was residing in. Sakura was lying down and her hands were clamped on her arms digging in even more drawing out blood. Fugaku sighed deeply as Sakura was forced by Mikoto to stand up. By this time, Sakura's eyes were wide open but fear and pain was written on her face, her eyes were flickering in and out of her dojutsu.

"Otou-san, what is happe-" Sasuke was cut off when he saw the girl being held by his mother, he felt a little bit resentment towards Sakura but it all changed when she saw the blood that Sakura had on her hands coming from the wound on her arms. Sasuke whimpered and hid behind his father's back while staring silently as Sakura was being forced out of her reverie.

"Otou-san? What is the matter now? Where is okaa-san?" Itachi had been awaken too and peeked inside the door his father was standing at and his otouto was looking towards with fear in his eyes. He felt an immensely great chakra being emitted from the door. As he drew nearer, he felt the chakra becoming more great, it was as if it's source had an infinite amount stored inside.

"Shhh, Sakura-chan, look at me now, don't worry, it's just a dream..." He heard his mother's voice soothingly and he realized it when he saw what was happening inside, Sakura was sitting upright shivering from fear and pain. As Sakura turned to look at them, her eyes immediately shifted from emerald green to a lighter shade of green with tints of purple and gold around the pupil while a sakura blossom pattern was on her eyes starting from the pupil. Soon afterwards, blood flowed out of her eyes like tears and Mikoto nodded grimly to Fugaku who activated his Sharingan and stared at Sakura's eyes capturing her in a genjustu while Mikoto applied pressure on her neck to knock her out. They looked at Sasuke and Itachi whose eyes betrayed their facade, it was time to explain who the girl was and they needed to do it, pronto.

**A.N.**

**Whooo! Finally, the third chapter's finish. Sorry if there ain't no title yet for the chapters, I'm still finding the right words yah! BTW, tell me your insights! Thanks again minna-san, till the next chappie... MWAHHH!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chappie 4-

"You mean she's not gonna steal you away from me okaa-chan?" Mikoto shook her head as confirmation to what Sasuke had asked them. They had explained to them who Sakura was, and why she was there. Itachi, who had been in her company for three minutes remembered her, but Sasuke was confused when they explained that she was the Haruno heiress and the sole survivor of her clan.

" She's staying here since it had been part of our contract, she's special, just like you and your onii-san, however, her dojutsu is as complicated as ours. Did you see her eyes? That was called Shourei Rengan, it is said that those eyes can see through lies and deceit and is useful for interrogation, however, unlike the sharingan, it is mastered through years of meditation and training." Sasuke immediately raised his hands stopping Mikoto from further elaborating her info.

"Okaa-san, does that mean that Sakura-nee chan was forced to meditate for years? But she's only a year older than me, how could that be so?" Mikoto smiled at Sasuke's disposition and glanced at her other son's direction who was looking way too serious for a 10 year-old kid.

"Ita-chan? Any ideas about why she has the perfect Shourei Rengan?" Mikoto said while smirking slightly, unknown to Itachi, he had been trained to study and learn more about the Haruno clan as they made a pact of one protecting the other. In order to do so, each heir from each clan was forced to study about the clan's history and abilities. It was included in one of Itachi's history lessons back then. Remembering this, the boy answered slightly hesitant.

"She's the heiress of Yuuki-hime. She was the only one who was able to control her Shourei Rengan at an early age, but, okaa-chan, according to the history books, Yuuki-hime had mastered hers at the age of 13, how is it that Sakura-san had obtained the perfect form of her dojutsu at half the age of Yuuki-hime?" Itachi asked perplexed at what he had remembered. At this, Mikoto smiled and looked at Itachi proudly while Fugaku had put Sasuke on his lap.

"Emotions dear, Saku-chan is like an open book ne? Her emotions can be seen flitting and changing just by looking at her face. That's what triggered her to obtain the perfect form of the dojutsu at such an age. She's just like you Itachi, so maybe try to talk with her and be acquainted with her, she needs a friend." Mikoto said , her voice resonating with love and another emotion Itachi just couldn't put his finger on.

"Yes, after all, we did not push you to the limit just for fame and power, others have misunderstood our intentions, we forced you to do this as for another reason. Now, it is time to sleep, Sakura has calmed down now, tomorrow, I'll ask the Hokage to enroll her in the Academy, she'll need some things to do if she wants to keep her mind out of the eradication of the clan." Fugaku had a hard time saying the word massacre, he just couldn't accept it either that they were brutally killed all because they trusted so much.

"Otou-san, I'll bring otouto with me, please take your rest. Oyasuminasai, kaa-chan." Itachi said before putting Sasuke in a piggy back ride all the way to the rooms upstairs. Mikoto looked worriedly towards Fugaku as he massaged his temple to prevent the heavy headache he'd have soon enough.

"We've told them about her staying here but, how will they react when we tell them about it?" Fugaku said before closing his eyes to calm his nerves.

"Don't worry about it Fugaku, soon, Sakura and Itachi will be of age and matured enough to handle the news... Let's keep the issue down for now, they are still kids and they need to enjoy childhood, let them be closer together, who knows, maybe Sakura will teach Itachi a thing or two about emotions." Fugaku nodded and gave his wife a kiss on the lips before heading upstairs to their room to rest. Tomorrow would be a flurry of activities, that was for sure.

~**TimeSkip**~

Itachi was beyond irritated, he had planned to rest and train with his otuoto now that he had no missions and here he was, stuck to watching the pink-haired girl that was living with them and being her chaperon to the picnic his mother had prepared for them. He still blamed himself for sometime though whenever he would remember their first encounter when Sakura was only 6 and he was just 10. He had been the reason as to why Sakura was attacked back then and forced to unleash her dojutsu at such a young age. It wasn't that he was complaining and all but for some time, he blamed himself for the death of the whole Haruno clan sans the heiress, for if he hadn't left her alone by the lake that time, 3 years ago, then maybe she wouldn't have awakened her power and the attackers would have stayed away and the clan would have been alive and well. He also blamed that he had to attend to that stupid mission scroll that was given to him earlier. And he truly blamed himself for being a bit too calm and cool about the safety of their clan compound. They had placed a barrier around as to prevent any more casualties like in the past.

"Sakura-chan, let's play a game. We call it the Missing Scroll, one of us will hold this small piece of scroll and the it will have to hunt us down, there's only a certain radius as to where we can all hide. So, wanna play?" Kids from the Academy asked while surrounding the 10 year-old pinkette, who looked at them and smirked in a good way, she never smiled anymore at the Academy, only doing so in rare occasions.

"Hai, I'll be the it." Sakura said volunteering, but the other kids began to grumble as it was only a matter of seconds before the girl would be able to find them and so she was forced to become one of the decoy, sadly though, they seemed to have forgotten about her as the game progressed and left her all by herself. Finding it so, she decided to stop playing and instead read her books again. A few minutes later, she kept them away and started to fix her things.

"Leaving so soon Sakura~channn." Sakura spun around only to be cornered by four boys who looked rather intimidating, he was around Itachi's age and by the looks of his hitai-ite, he was a chuunin at the most. One of them slung an arm on Sakura's shoulders obviously flirting with her, she however was obviously annoyed, but since fighting one of your upperclass man inside the campus is prohibited, she just pushed away his arm rather forcefully and continued about her business. The boy however smirked even more and looked at Sakura rather differently.

"Wow, feisty there, aren't you? That's what I like about a girl, one who knows how to fight." Itachi's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, he didn't knew why but still, those boys were about his age and they were practically toying around with Sakura. Sakura on the other hand remained unmoving waiting for the bell to ring, so that she could leave now or maybe fight, because once the bell rings, they are free to do what they want. And so, the bell did rang and the other students of the Academy ran round excitedly while Sakura was still cornered by the boys. Deciding to intervene, he stepped out of his hiding place and called Sakura. They were going to be late if this continues and he was the kind of boy who hated being late.

"Sakura... We should be going home by now you know. Kaa-chan is waiting for us, and besides you still have a lecture to attend to." The boys snapped their heads towards the direction of his voice, he had revealed his presence when one of the boys started getting too close for comfort. He didn't knew why but it irked him to the ends of the earth. Sakura's face lit up, but she still didn't smiled, all that she did was smirk slightly as a replacement of smiling.

"Itachi-kun, I'm sorry for making you wait for me. I uh, I'll just have my books back please?" Sakura said, going along with his plan. Itachi had never called her by her first name alone, most of the time it had -san in it and she the same, so she knew that he was trying to help her.

"Just hurry up, okaa-san doesn't want you to be late for ikebana practice now." Itachi stated before crossing his arms and waiting for Sakura to finish arranging her books. For a 10 year-old girl, she seemed normal as it was what her real parents wanted for her, to live a normal life while he, was forced to train and know little about being a child. The boys were glaring at him and so for good measure and to silence the boys, he grabbed Sakura's hand and tugged her along. The girls were glaring daggers toward Sakura while the boys did the same with Itachi. It seemed that the pinkette had some fanboys that were ready to worship the very ground she walked.

'Geez, can't a boy hold a friend's hand?' Itachi muttered to himself as they went past the Academy gates. He kept on muttering incoherent words though his face said what his thoughts were. Sakura saw this and snickered catching his attention, they were already far from the Academy and so Itachi had let go of Sakura's hands.

"Why are you snickering?" Itachi asked her while Sakura just shrugged as a form of answer. Itachi then turned left confusing Sakura as the compound was in the other direction.

"Itachi-san, where are we heading?" Itachi ignored her however and half-dragged her to the forest. Sakura looked around fearfully as the forests began to flourish and then diminish. After a burst of light, she saw Mikoto sitting on a picnic blanket while Sasuke and Fugaku were standing, probably training.  
"Saki-chan!" Mikoto said before waving her hands and smiling happily towards them.

"Okaa-san told me to pick you up, we're going to have a small picnic here, she decided to do it." Itachi said while walking towards his kaa-san, his face was grumpy and he had his arms crossed out.

"Ahahahahahahaha." Itachi looked queerly at Sakura who suddenly laughed, something she hadn't done for 3 years. Mikoto looked at Sakura and then at Itachi before joining Sakura in laughing, Fugaku was also smiling while Sasuke tried to hold in a snicker. Itachi became even more grumpier and he pouted slightly making the two females laugh even more.

"What?!" Itachi finally said while Sakura stopped smiling then imitated his face and stance before bursting into fits of giggles again. Itachi sighed heavily, something was terribly wrong with this girl, and he couldn't even understand her. The giggling and laughing stopped after a few minutes, but for Itachi, he was still grouchy and touchy about the subject.

"That was very good of you Ita-chan, at the very least, Saki-chan's returning back to her usual self. You're the only one who made her laugh like that, but still, anyone seeing your face would have laughed, you should try smiling more, or else, Sakura's gonna keep on teasing you about your grumpy attitude." Mikoto said to Itachi who was sitting besides her as they watched Fugaku train Sasuke and Sakura. Itachi nodded and kept on watching the pinkette, she had been trained until she reached the state where she was able to perfectly manipulate and control her dojutsu. There had been several attacks on the village but it always ended in failure, for now, they had nothing to worry about.

"That's for now, let's go eat now, or you'll be spoiling Mi-chan's mood today." Fugaku said as the two run towards them where the food was.

"Sakura-onee chan, here's the dango, I helped cook it and I hope you'll like it." Sakura nodded and smiled slightly, she seemed to have loosen up a bit and her smirk was replaced by a small smile. That was a good sign as she had seldom graced them with a smile so bright like that, much less a giggle.  
Sasuke had understood that Sakura was not going to replace him, and also of the fact that she had to witness her clan's massacre. He had apologized and made amends with Sakura, who being the kind girl, forgave him at once.

"Oishi, Sasu-chan... You're getting good, but you're still not doing very well with training. Bleh!" Sakura said playfully before popping the dango into her mouth and running around changing speed occasionally as Sasuke tried to catch her.

Fugaku nodded seeing as how Sakura helped Sasuke train his speed and agility along with strengthening his stamina without him finding out about it. Mikoto caught his look and smiled knowingly. She would be perfect, and they weren't going to let the chance slip away from them when she had grown up. The contract was going to be fulfilled, just a few more years and everything will be fine. But for now, they'll just let everything go as planned, surely it would not be bad to cut some slack and let them enjoy their childhood. Itachi confusedly looked at his parents then back to eating onigiri. He knew something was up but he'll let it slide for the meantime, he seldom gets vacation now that he was promoted to Anbu captain.

**A.N.**

**Okay, sorry if it might end up being too crappy. This one is rushed since I might not be able to update for atleast a few days or so since classes have resumed already, and I'm busy now...**


	5. Chapter 5

Chappie 5-

"Haruno-sama? Four Anbu operatives have been brought in, these are their files. We have sent five medic-nins to do the job, but they reported that the wounds were too many and complicated that they cannot do it." A blue-haired woman said while holding four files in her hands. Another female is standing inside the office but her back was towards the woman who called for her attention.

"Noona-san, what room do they reside in? I'll go and check up on them, we can't afford any casualties." The girl turned around revealing most of her face, her complexion was pale and accented her emerald eyes.

"Room no. 312, I trust that you'll handle things there Haruno-sama." Sakura nodded before wearing her scrub and heading towards the room. This was complicated as it is and if five capable medic nins couldn't handle it, then she needed to pitch in. She arrived just in time to see the medic-nins trying to keep the poison at bay. The three Anbus were already rested, but the last one seemed to give them trouble.

"I'll handle this one, you guys go and rest. We must not have a shortage in medic-nins, make sure that your chakras are not depleted, okay?" The five medic-nins nodded and wearily left the room, if their head medic-nin pitched in help, that would mean that the patients would be fine. After another hour, Sakura stepped out of her scrubs and grabbed her coat. The operation was a success and she was heading towards the rooms of other patients.

"Haruno-sama, konichiwa." An elderly woman greeted her which she returned with a smile. She looked at the clock again before rushing to the end of the hallway where another patient was. It was a young boy who had broken his arms while training and was just recuperating.

"Sakura-onee! You're back again, I want to get out already to train!" Sakura laughed sweetly before patting the young boy's head.

"I'm so sorry Sumire-kun, you need to rest and regain back your strength so that you'll be able to defeat your rival's record and be strong, but not while you are weak. For now, focus on resting and keeping still okay? Drink your medicine regularly and by next week, you'll be out of the hospital." Sakura said watching the child's eyes shift from impatience to anticipation.

"HAI!" Sumire answered happily while Sakura stood up to go. She ruffled his already messy hair before going out of the room. She arrived moments later in her office where she stretched her arms and removed her lab gown.

"Ah, finally... I'm totally beat from all those patients. I could use a nice bath after this." Sakura said to no one in particular. A small knock was heard on the other side of her door and she raised an eyebrow at the interruption.

"Hai? I do hope that it's not ano- Itachi-san!" Sakura was perplexed beyond imagination, Itachi Uchiha was standing in front of her while his eyebrows raised teasingly. His smirk was plastered on his face again and he had his arms crossd about. She was about to ask him what he was doing there but he beat her to it.

"Your shift is done, am I correct?" Itachi looked at her and then back at the clock on her office. Sakura nodded as an answer not wanting to say something to the man.

"Very well then, okaa-san asked me to pick you up after your shift, there will be an occasion at home." Sakura again nodded and hurriedly grabbed her sling bag and pushed the Uchiha outside. She grabbed her keys and proceeded to lock her office.

"Yeah, yeah... Now I'll just sign out okay? You can come with me if you want to." Sakura said while she slid the key back to her bag after using it. They went past the hallways only stopping for a short while so that Sakura could sign out for the day at the reception desk. The nurse however was blushing madly at seeing the popular Anbu captain and Uchiha heir infront of her that she forgot to give Sakura her card or pay attention to her. Sakura raised an eyebrow at this and cleared her throat, catching the girl's attention.

"Ehem, Kin-chan, if you wouldn't mind, I'll be signing out now..." Sakura said before putting her signature on the paper and dragging the Uchiha heir by the hand outside of the hospital. Several nurses blushed as the male passed by, ignoring their head medic who was dragging him. Some even fainted when Itachi smirked and veins popped on Sakura's forehead. She stopped dragging him when they got out of the hospital and faced him seriously.

"Itachi-san, do me a favor and never ever pick me up after my shift. I don't want my subordinates to faint on sight because of your mere presence. It's terribly annoying you know." Sakura said which earned her another smirk from the Uchiha. She sighed heavily before looking up at him, if talking won't work, then maybe puppy eyes would, her eyes pleading, however Itachi just smirked at her.

"Please?" Sakura said while trying to be the victor of their game, they had played this game as to who could make one concede to see which of them was better. She sighed again indicating her loss and turned away from the heir. She began grumbling words that would have made her etiquette teacher flip over.

"Damn it, I was so close to making him agree. Damn him for having such control over emotions." Sakura muttered lowly though Itachi heard it. Sakura began to walk towards the Uchiha compound when she remembered something.

"Ne, Itachi-san, why is it that Mikoto asked you to pick me up earlier? You seldom pick me up from the hospital?" Itachi merely grunted in response and kept his mouth shut obviously annoying the young woman, it was payback time and he was going to annoy the Haruno heiress to no end. Sakura's eyes twitched, she was not gonna lose her cool now and admit defeat, he knew that she had a thin temper from living with her for the past 12 years and he had a slight advantage. So instead, she kept her anger in check and racked her brain for answers when Itachi spoke.

"You forgot." It was more of a statement than a question and Sakura turned to face him perplexed at what he said. How could she forget something if it was important?

"Eh? Is there something going on... OH NO!" Sakura shrieked when she remembered what the occasion for the day was. It was none other than a certain Uchiha's birthday and she still hadn't finished packing her gift.

"Kyaa! Itachi-san, why didn't you reminded me that today's Sasuke's 17th birthday? AH! I still have to wrap his gift up! Ja, hayako Itachi-san, hayako!" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the girl before he stopped walking, causing the roseate to look towards him and glare pointedly. However, it seemed that fate was keen on making her suffer after all.

"Argsh, Itachi-san, what are you doi-oi, what are you doing?!" Sakura asked when Itachi immediately grabbed her by her waist and started to perform a one-hand seal, oblivious to the malicious aura surrounding Sakura as her anger started to flare up. Suddenly, a poof was heard and the two arrived inside the Uchiha compound, Sakura was about to retort but Itachi began to walk away from her as if nothing happened.

Mikoto was inside the kitchen cooking and preparing things while Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. As they entered the house, they were greeted by Mikoto looking like nothing was amiss.

"Tadaima Mikoto-chan." Mikoto looked at Sakura as she entered the house followed by Itachi who was still looking serious, but his eyes were kind of playful.

"Okairi Saki-chan, Ita-chan. Sasu-chan's still with his team, Shishui and Fuga-kun; so we still have time to prepare. Care to pitch in any help?" Sakura immediately nodded and headed upstairs to change her clothes. She came back down wearing a maroon shirt with matching black pants and pink hair which was in a bun had been loosen now and it's edges seemed a little bit curled due to the hair being in bun for more than five hours already. Itachi had disappeared to the comfort of his room, he needed to change clothes already.

"Mikoto-chan, what else can I do?" Sakura asked when she noticed that most of the food had already been cooked.

"Hmmm, why don't you arrange them on the table? With your taste on the arrangement, it'll be perfect." Sakura nodded before proceeding outside of the kitchen to fix the dishes on the table. She made it look like the Uchiha clan mark that was shaped in a fan. Mikoto arrived just in time to see the last arrangements being made.

"My you have outdone yourself again, Saki-chan. This preparation is perfect! Now we'll just have to wait for Sasuke to arrive." Mikoto said rather excitedly, at the same moment, Itachi arrived wearing a baggy black shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and his hair down instead of the normal ponytail. And this marked the return of the ever-so famous Inner Sakura.

_**'Kyaaa! Ita-kun's sooo cute!'**_Sakura sighed mentally, this was just the thing she needed... **NOT!**

**'Great, you're back to pester me again now huh?'** Sakura said expressing her irritation and annoyance to the return of her 'inner'.

_**'Yes, I'm back to pester you and to tell you that Itachi's totally smoking hawt~.'**_Inner said while drooling over Itachi as he passed by them.

**'Tss, shut up.'** Sakura said, greatly displeased and annoyed by her inner self's ranting.

_**'Ohhh, someone's in denial here... Just admit it, Itachi's cute and smokin smexy, and he's also fragrant, was that vanilla and strawberry?'**_ Inner said making Sakura's face contort into a frown.

**'Tss, yeah right, just shut up okay? I haven't heard from you ever since that happened and now you're back.'** Sakura grumbled to her inner who snickered slightly like a little kid.

**'And besides, you were more mature thinking back then, are you even the same inner I had back then?'** Sakura asked again. Her inner rolled her eyes and looked at Sakura seriously creeping the Haruno heiress out.

_**'It depends upon the situation at hand, would you prefer then that I become like this... Sakura-hime?'**_ Her inner suddenly turned cold and serious sending goosebumps all over her neck and shoulders.

**'N-no, I prefer the other inner.'** Sakura said which made her inner's face light up instantly. She knew that having a bubbly and serious inner would not be good for her.

Itachi had taken his time to change into casual clothes when he saw that Sakura and his kaa-chan were preparing for his otouto's birthday. He had traded his uniform into something more proper for the occasion and he opted to wear a black baggy shirt and a lighter shade of shorts. He had taken a bath too so his hair smelled of vanilla and strawberries and he did not placed his hair into a ponytail, leaving his hair down. As he passed by Sakura, he noticed that she was staring into thin air and seemed to b arguing about something on her mind. It was obvious the way her eyes would lit up then darken then back to that annoyed look whenever someone pestered her about things she hated.

He smirked when he noticed the frown that adorned her features, she never was truly the one who would be able to hide her emotions, which amused him since her sensei was the famous Slug Princess and candidate for the next Hokage. As he walked past her, he noticed that her fist had clenched tightly and her lips were in a frown.

"Sakura, why are you looking as if you are ready to kill someone?" Itachi asked and she looked up at him, her eyes shining with a new emotion that confused him. Emotions were always a bit hard for the Uchiha heir to understand since he had been trained and forced to train again by the Elders so that they could attain 'world respect' however, Itachi had been saved from this demise when the Sandaime had cleared their name of the Kyuubi attack and they were welcomed back to their old clan house. The people's faith on them were restored when the Yondaime appointed them as guards of the Konohagakure village and the Haruno heiress and survivor were given to their care.

"Hmph, it's none of your business, besides, you're one to talk when your eyes always seems to look so dead as if you prefer seeing a person die instead of them living." Sakura said before stomping out of the room. As she left however, she failed to notice the ghost of a smile in Itachi's face, which never happened before, as he watched her flounced out of the dining room muttering incoherent words that would've made a princess faint.

"Ita-chan, did you and Sakura quarrel? She just passed my way saying that you were an idiot and things, her eyes seemed to be a bit furious as well and when I asked her where she was going she just sighed as if in exasperation." Itachi looked at his mother and smiled a small smile. It was no secret that Itachi was a mama's boy but don't ever mention it if you still wanna see the light of day.

"Hn." Mikoto laughed melodiously, and it left Itachi wondering whether or not she could actually comprehend such useless words that couldn't even be considered as a phrase.

**A.N**

**Sooo, here's the next part. I know that my ItaSaku moments are way too slow but hey, take it easy, at least now they are of age and well, things happen. BTW, I made a timeskip to make it easier to manage and I'll just get flashbacks if there are scenes from the past. **


End file.
